Assessing Your Options

After Section One of the manual (the checklist) has been completed and responses have been recorded on the implementation potential worksheets, Section Two can be used to prioritize the selected options. Section Two contains tables of the waste reduction opportunities discussed in the checklist. The tables, consisting of 

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Relocating can be either a great adventure or a big mistake, depending on how carefully you assess your needs and plan to meet them. Here are several options that work for different retirees. Which one appeals to you ... 

Part of this technique s advantage is that it s easier to use than such other comparative techniques as the Pugh Matrix (Technique 36). Therefore, Paired Comparison Analysis enables you to quickly but comprehensively assess the relative worth of all your options before committing to any specific one. 

You are (or are about to be) a professional. You need to spend some time and thought and make an assessment of the value and your options related to professional certification and or licensure. 

Now you can reconsider the material balance equations by adding those additional factors identified in the previous step. If necessary, estimates of unaccountable losses will have to be calculated. Note that, in the case of a relatively simple manufacturing plant, preparation of a preliminary material-balance system and its refinement (Steps 14 and 15) can usefully be combined. For more-complex P2 assessments, however, two separate steps are likely to be more appropriate. An important rule to remember is that the inputs should ideally equal the outputs - but in practice this will rarely be the case. Some judgment will be required to determine what level of accuracy is acceptable, and we should have an idea as to what the unlikely sources of errors are (e.g., evaporative losses from outside holding ponds may be a materials loss we cannot accurately account for). In the case of high concentrations of hazardous wastes, accurate measurements are needed to develop cost-effective waste-reduction options. It is possible that the material balance for a number of unit operations will need to be repeated. Again, continue to review, refine, and, where necessary, expand your database. The compilation of accurate and comprehensive data is essential for a successful P2 audit and subsequent waste-reduction action plan. Remember - you can t reduce what you don t know is therel... 

So my message to the chemical industry broadly and in particular to the segment of small businesses is to not let the PMN requirements limit your creative spirit in the development and commercialization of new chemicals. The Office of Toxic Substances in EPA stands ready to assist you at no cost in filling out the forms and distinguishing clearly what is minimally essential for risk assessment purposes from what is optional. We have trained consultants in the northeastern and mid-west sections of the country ready to travel to your location and advise you in a confidential way on PMNs. Our staff in Washington can be immensely helpful and you should feel free to discuss your specific situation with them. And, to top it off, we have one recently-retired experienced chemcial industry man concentrating his entire effort to assist the small business man in any TSCA-related matter. His name is Dr. Bob Toomey give him a call on the Industry Assistance Office toll-free line. 

The purpose of the TOA is to help you to decide what to do with the technology opportunity at hand. Here you make a list of one or several options that appear to be most promising and evaluate your current assessment of likely success for those options. Typical options include the following ... 

These values are determined as the checklist is completed. After completing of the table in Appendix A, transfer the values to these tables for completing the options assessment. The next step in the evaluation process is determining the type of option. For the options scored as "none" or those that have no chance for implementation into your shop, no further evaluation is needed. The next step in the evaluation process is to determine the "type" of option. 

Richard C. Alkire, University of Illinois To make investments today, your industry and many others use sophisticated economic tools based on assessment of risk for leases of contracts, options, and the like where there s uncertainty in the future. Can those tools be used to deal with research ... 

You may be allowed to take your laboratory reports and other texts into the practical exam. Don t assume that this is a soft option, or that revision is unnecessary you will not have time to read large sections of your reports or to familiarize yourself with basic principles etc. The main advantage of open-book exams is that you can check specific details of methodology, reducing your reliance on memory, provided you know your way around your practical manual. In all other respects, your revision and preparation for such exams should be similar to theory exams. Make sure you are familiar with all of the practical exercises, including any work carried out in class by your partner (since exams are assessed on individual performance). Check with the teaching staff to see whether you can be given access to the laboratory, to complete any exercises that you have missed. 

Wireless Priority Service (WPS) can improve connection capabilities for a limited number of authorized national security and emergency preparedness mobile phone users. In the event of congestion in the wireless network, an emergency call using WPS will take priority queuing for the next available channel. Obtain a last-resort backup means of communication such as wireless, WIFI, or satellite. Consider HF radio as an option, recognizing that HF usually requires a skilled operator such as a licensed HAM radio operator. Evaluate the resiliency, redundancy, and interoperability of the system while performing your inventory and risk assessment analysis. 

Before beginning to read this chapter take time to assess where your safety and health effort is at present with reference to the training of your workforce on safety and health. For each of the three topics, you are to circle the number of the option that best depicts your training effort at present. 

Optional) Share this self-assessment with your group mates (e.g., at the start of next class). 

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